The state has decided not to block more irrigation development along the lower reaches of the Platte River basin.
The Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 6:00 pm
The state has decided not to block more irrigation development along the lower reaches of the Platte River basin.
Environmentalists and the state Game and Parks Commission have warned that more water use in the region could harm threatened and endangered species. But a scientific analysis by the state Department of Natural Resources led officials there to conclude that demands on water in the basin haven’t pushed it to the brink of overuse.
Had the department declared the Lower Platte basin fully appropriated, there would have been a ban on increasing irrigated acres in the basin.
The Lower Platte Basin includes portions of about 10 counties, from Madison County southeast to Sarpy County.